By Nkechi Eze
The Army War College Nigeria (AWCN) has successfully concluded a week-long Geo-Strategic Study Tour for participants of Course 9/2025, aimed at deepening understanding of environmental security and its relevance to national defence. The study tour, held from June 8 to 14, 2025, focused on the theme “Security of Forest Reserves for Enhanced National Defence” and featured extensive engagements across three African countries Uganda, Botswana, and Tanzania.
In a statement released by the College’s Public Relations Officer, Major Hashimu Sa’ad Abdullahi, the participants were grouped into three teams, each dispatched to a separate country to explore the intersection of environmental conservation and strategic security policy. Team 1 visited the Republic of Uganda, Team 2 engaged stakeholders in the Republic of Botswana, while Team 3 undertook strategic visits in the Republic of Tanzania.
The tour was designed to expose the officers to diverse geo-strategic environments and highlight how forest security frameworks in other African nations could inform Nigeria’s own approach to countering threats emerging from ungoverned forested spaces. It also aligned with Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives of fostering regional cooperation in security and environmental management.
While on tour, participants held high-level meetings with defence ministries, environmental agencies, forest rangers, and academic institutions, gaining firsthand insight into civil-military collaboration in forest protection, non-kinetic counter-threat strategies, and community-based conservation models. The countries visited were selected for their advanced environmental governance and proven record in managing forest reserves and national parks.
The Commandant of the College, in his closing remarks, urged the participants to reflect deeply on the lessons learned and apply the knowledge to Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to secure its forest reserves, especially in combating insurgency, banditry, and transnational criminal activity. He stressed the importance of balancing kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in modern security operations, noting that Nigeria’s forests remain vital not only to the nation’s ecological health but also to its security and economic future.
Also part of the delegation were senior officers including Brigadier General U.M. Aliyu from the Army Headquarters Department of Training and Brigadier General M.B. Usman from the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Nigerian Army. Both served as observers during the tour, offering institutional oversight and reinforcing the Nigerian Army’s commitment to operational excellence and continuous learning.
The AWCN Geo-Strategic Study Tour remains a critical component of the college’s curriculum, aimed at broadening the strategic outlook of senior officers while equipping them with contemporary tools to address Nigeria’s multifaceted security challenges.
